https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/86/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/it-feels-like-this-is-the-crucial-piece-of-info-weve-been-missing-all-along-about-cubs-offseason-r1299/If we're being honest, it didn't make that much sense for the Cubs to take an interest in trading Cody Bellinger this winter. Sure, you could squint and see it, if they really wanted a major shakeup of their positional corps and/or if they believe they need a major infusion of pitching talent bu...1299Tue, 10 Dec 2024 19:42:59 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-kyle-finnegan-ended-up-being-rightfully-non-tendered-but-could-still-emerge-as-a-legit-relief-ace-r1298/My big problem with Kyle Finnegan is this: dude throws his splitter for strikes too much. It's a strange-sounding complaint, when it first hits your ear (or your eyes, here), but it's legitimate. Last season, almost no one in baseball gave up more hard contact than Finnegan did, and the reason w...1298Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:47:53 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/why-carson-kelly-is-the-perfect-fit-for-cubs-needs-behind-the-plate%E2%80%94and-what-it-means-for-miguel-amaya-r1296/As the offseason got underway, we knew that the free-agent options behind the dish were slim pickings, both in terms of volume and overall appeal. The path to a signing quickly grew even narrower, with Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Higashioka, and Danny Jansen each finding homes within the last couple o...1296Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:10:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kyle-tucker-trade-rumors-the-theory-and-praxis-of-bringing-astros-slugger-to-cubs-in-blockbuster-deal-r1295/One year ago, the Yankees traded for Juan Soto, giving up a handsome package in exchange for a single season of the services of one of the best hitters of his generation. It was a less daunting deal than it could have been, though, for the simple reason that there was just that one year of contr...1295Tue, 10 Dec 2024 12:13:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-near-deal-with-free-agent-catcher-carson-kelly-r1294/Though (as I laid out in my first post of the day) they did have a few options, the Cubs' best and dearest hope coming into Day One of the Winter Meetings was to get a deal done with free-agent backstop Carson Kelly. Now, they're on that precipice. Kelly, 30, hit .238/.313/.374 in 91 games...1294Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:47:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-biggest-misses-of-winter-to-date-came-this-weekend-can-they-find-the-right-alternatives-r1293/Other than players like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, it's a little silly to fixate on any one free agent, from a fan perspective. The likelihood of landing that particular player is quite low, because (after all) the players in question are free to choose the team they prefer. For reasons financ...1293Mon, 09 Dec 2024 18:11:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/i-bet-all-that-gold-makes-the-chocolate-taste-terrible-with-juan-soto-dream-dead-whats-next-for-cubs-r1292/The Chicago Cubs, specifically, were never in on Juan Soto. It’s a hideous truth—he’s exactly the type of player that a team in this market, with this notable an offensive need, should have written a blank check for—but one to which we collectively resigned ourselves some time ago. Nevertheless,...1292Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:04:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/with-four-catchers-off-the-board-cubs-have-three-choices-left-for-position-this-offseason-r1291/Many Cubs fans had set their sights on catchers Danny Jansen or Kyle Higashioka this winter. Those fans were bitterly disappointed this week, when the Rangers signed Higashioka to a two-year deal and Jansen secured $8.5 million from the Rays on a one-year pact. Nowhere on most fans' radars was G...1291Mon, 09 Dec 2024 12:17:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-matthew-boyd-aboard-new-first-base-coach-rounds-out-staff-r1290/With the offseason's biggest pieces beginning to find their places in the puzzle, please bear in mind, my loyal reader, this unshakable truism: our best-laid plans don't always come together as neatly as a jigsaw would have them do. I'm not saying that coveted free agents like Corbin Burnes and...1290Sun, 08 Dec 2024 23:04:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/trading-seiya-suzuki-would-be-a-mistake-r1289/Earlier this week, Joel Sherman dropped a rather wild nugget into his argument that the New York Yankees should pursue Cody Bellinger even if they do, in fact, sign Juan Soto. Sherman reported that in addition to the Chicago Cubs’ shopping of Bellinger, they’re also pursuing a trade of fellow ou...1289Sat, 07 Dec 2024 12:57:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-its-not-a-life-and-so-it-cant-be-a-death-of-that-wild-garrett-crochet-to-cubs-trade-rumor-r1288/On Thursday afternoon, all hell broke loose for a bit on what is left of Cubs Twitter. Most of the good baseball talk these days is happening at Bluesky, but because Jeff Passan hasn't yet defected, those of us who want to instantly catch important news when it breaks are forced to spend some ti...1288Fri, 06 Dec 2024 12:27:32 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/what-exactly-went-wrong-with-the-2024-cubs-bullpen%E2%80%94and-how-do-they-fix-it-r1285/Statistially, the Cubs did not have a good relief corps. Baseball Reference ranked them 22nd in their Wins Above Average metric, but that shouldn't be a team killer. Just below them on the list was the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Baltimore Orioles were 24th, so clearly this can be overcome. Loo...1285Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:10:02 +0000